The Prescribed Punishment for Drinking Wine - Section 1

Anas told that the Prophet (ﷺ) gave a beating with palm branches and sandals for drinking wine and that Abu Bakr gave forty lashes. (Bukhari and Muslim.) In a version on his authority it says that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to give forty stripes with palm branches and sandals for drinking wine.

عَنْ أَنَسٍ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ضَرَبَ فِي الْخَمْرِ بِالْجَرِيدِ والنِّعالِ وجلَدَ أَبُو بكرٍ رَضِي الله عَنهُ أربعينَ وَفِي رِوَايَة عَنْهُ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَضْرِبُ فِي الْخَمْرِ بِالنِّعَالِ وَالْجَرِيدِ أَرْبَعِينَ

As-Sa’ib b. Yazid said:

When a drinker was brought in the time of God’s Messenger, during Abu Bakr’s Caliphate and in the beginning of ‘Umar’s Caliphate, we beat him with our hands, sandals and cloaks, but at the end of ‘Umar’s Caliphate he inflicted forty stripes, and when people were immoderate and excessively wicked he inflicted eighty stripes. Bukhari transmitted it.

وَعَنِ السَّائِبِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ قَالَ: كَانَ يُؤْتَى بِالشَّارِبِ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَإِمْرَةِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَصَدْرًا مِنْ خِلَافَةِ عُمَرَ فَنَقُومُ عَلَيْهِ بِأَيْدِينَا وَنِعَالِنَا وَأَرْدِيَتِنَا حَتَّى كَانَ آخِرُ إِمْرَةِ عُمَرَ فَجَلَدَ أَرْبَعِينَ حَتَّى إِذَا عَتَوْا وَفَسَقُوا جَلَدَ ثَمَانِينَ. رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيّ

Jabir reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying, “Beat anyone who drinks wine, and if he does it a fourth time kill him.” He said that after that a man who had drunk wine four times was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he beat him, but did not kill him. Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Abu Dawud transmitted it on the authority of Qablsa b. Dhu’aib. Another version by both of them and by Nasa’i, Ibn Majah and Darimi on the authority of some of the companions of God’s Messenger, including Ibn ‘Umar, Mu'awiya, Abu Huraira and ash-Sharid, stops at “kill him.”* * This means that they gave only the Prophet’s words, and did not say anything about the man who was not killed.

عَنْ جَابِرٌ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «مَنْ شَرِبَ الْخَمْرَ فَاجْلِدُوهُ فَإِنْ عَادَ فِي الرَّابِعَةِ فَاقْتُلُوهُ» قَالَ: ثُمَّ أَتَى النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ بِرَجُلٍ قَدْ شَرِبَ فِي الرَّابِعَةِ فَضَرَبَهُ وَلَمْ يقْتله. رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيّ وَرَوَاهُ أَبُو دَاوُد عَن قبيصَة بن دؤيب وَفِي أُخْرَى لَهُمَا وَلِلنَّسَائِيِّ وَابْنِ مَاجَهْ وَالدَّارِمِيِّ عَنْ نَفَرٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْهُمُ ابْنُ عُمَرَ وَمُعَاوِيَةُ وَأَبُو هُرَيْرَة والشريد إِلَى قَوْله: «فَاقْتُلُوهُ»

‘Abd ar-Rahman b. al-Azhar said:

I can still picture myself looking at God’s Messenger when a man who had drunk wine was brought before him and he told the people to beat him. Some struck him with sandals, some with sticks and some with <i>mitakhas</i>. Ibn Wahb said this means green palm fronds. Then God’s Messenger took some dust from the ground and threw it in his face. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

وَعَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْأَزْهَرِ قَالَ: كَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذْ أُتِيَ بِرَجُلٍ قَدْ شَرِبَ الْخَمْرَ فَقَالَ لِلنَّاسِ: «اضْرِبُوهُ» فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ ضَرَبَهُ بِالنِّعَالِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ ضَرَبَهُ بِالْعَصَا وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ ضَرَبَهُ بِالْمِيتَخَةِ. قَالَ ابْنُ وَهْبٍ: يَعْنِي الْجَرِيدَةَ الرَّطْبَةَ ثُمَّ أَخَذَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تُرَابًا مِنَ الْأَرْضِ فَرَمَى بِهِ فِي وجهِه. رَوَاهُ أَبُو دَاوُد

Abu Huraira said:

When a man who had drunk wine was brought to God’s Messenger he told us to beat him, and some struck him with their hands, some with their garments and some with their sandals. He then told them to reproach him, and they faced him and said, “You have not respected God, you have not feared God, and you have not shown shame before God’s Messenger.” But when some of the people said, “God put you to shame!” he told them not to say that and help the devil to get power over him, but to say, “O God, forgive him. O God show mercy to him.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أُتِيَ بِرَجُلٍ قَدْ شربَ الخمرَ فَقَالَ: «اضْرِبُوهُ» فَمِنَّا الضَّارِبُ بِيَدِهِ وَالضَّارِبُ بِثَوْبِهِ وَالضَّارِبُ بِنَعْلِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: «بَكِّتُوهُ» فَأَقْبَلُوا عَلَيْهِ يَقُولُونَ: مَا اتَّقَيْتَ اللَّهَ مَا خَشِيتَ اللَّهَ وَمَا اسْتَحْيَيْتَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْقَوْمِ: أَخْزَاكَ اللَّهُ. قَالَ:

لَا تَقُولُوا هَكَذَا لَا تُعِينُوا عَلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانَ وَلَكِنْ قُولُوا: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْهُ

. رَوَاهُ أَبُو دَاوُد

Ibn ‘Abbas told that a man who had drunk and become intoxicated was found staggering in the road, so he was taken to God’s Messenger, but when he was opposite al-‘Abbas’s house he escaped, and going in to al-‘Abbas he grasped hold of him. When the Prophet (ﷺ) was told that he laughed and said, “Did he do that?” and he gave no command regarding him. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

وَعَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ: شَرِبَ رَجُلٌ فَسَكِرَ فَلُقِيَ يَمِيلُ فِي الْفَجِّ فَانْطُلِقَ بِهِ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلَمَّا حَاذَى دَارَ الْعَبَّاسِ انْفَلَتَ فَدَخَلَ عَلَى الْعَبَّاسِ فَالْتَزَمَهُ فَذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فضحكَ وَقَالَ: «أفعَلَها؟» وَلم يأمرْ فيهِ بشيءٍ. رَوَاهُ أَبُو دَاوُد

‘Umair b. Sa'id an-Nakha‘i told that he heard ‘Ali b. Abu Talib say, “I am not one to have any feelings about a man who dies when I inflict a prescribed punishment on him, with the exception of one who has drunk wine, for if he were to die I would pay blood wit for him. Thai is because God’s Messenger did not lay down any specific custom regarding him.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

عَن عُمَيْر بن سعيد النخفي قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ عَلِيَّ بْنَ أَبِي طَالِبٍ يَقُولُ: مَا كُنْتُ لِأُقِيمَ عَلَى أَحَدٍ حَدًّا فَيَمُوتَ فَأَجِدَ فِي نَفْسِي مِنْهُ شَيْئًا إِلَّا صَاحِبَ الْخَمْرِ فَإِنَّهُ لَوْ مَاتَ وَدَيْتُهُ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يسنه

Thaur b. Zaid ad-Dailami told that ‘Umar sought counsel about the prescribed punishment for drinking wine and ‘Ali said to him, “I think you should give one who drinks it eighty lashes, for when he drinks he becomes intoxicated, when he is intoxicated he raves, and when he raves he makes up lies.” So ‘Umar inflicted eighty lashes as the punishment prescribed for drinking wine. Malik transmitted it.

وَعَنْ ثَوْرِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ الدَّيْلِمِيِّ قَالَ: إِنَّ عُمَرَ اسْتَشَارَ فِي حَدِّ الْخَمْرِ فَقَالَ لَهُ عَلِيٌّ: أَرَى أَنْ تَجْلِدَهُ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً فَإِنَّهُ إِذَا شَرِبَ سَكِرَ وَإِذَا سَكِرَ هَذَى وَإِذَا هذَى افْتَرى فجلدَ عمرُ رَضِي الله عَنهُ فِي حَدِّ الْخَمْرِ ثَمَانِينَ. رَوَاهُ مَالِكٌ